The present invention relates generally to a flame cutting machine and more particularly to a flame cutting machine for cutting sections accurately from a workpiece such as a cast or rolled length of steel.
In one form of flame cutting machine for cutting a workpiece comprising for example steel, which is disposed on a roller bed conveyor or a table, into portions of accurate lengths, a cutting torch is movable transversely with respect to the direction of feed movement of the workpiece and is adjustable in respect of its working height. Associated with the cutting torch is a length measuring arrangement for measuring the relative distance covered as between the flame cutting machine and the workpiece, using for that purpose a measuring wheel which runs against the surface of the workpiece as it moves.
Such a flame cutting machine suffers from various kinds of linked difficulties. Thus, it is necessary on the one hand to provide thermal insulation for various parts of the flame cutting machine, in particular the feed hoses and cables, and other units which are sensitive to heat such as the measuring rollers. In addition, there is a need for the slabs or blooms which are cut off by the machine to be severed from the workpiece, which may be, for example, a continuously cast or rolled workpiece, while in the condition of having been cooled down to the minimum extent; it is thus necessary to avoid cooling as far as possible, in which respect other kinds of problems occur, in connection with cooling the machine.